WWE fans slam CEO's $5.5m payout days after virus job cuts
Details are emerging about a $5.5 million stock dividend payout Vince McMahon received just days after standing down staff amid the coronavirus crisis.
WWE started releasing professional wrestlers last week in budget cuts related to the pandemic.
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The moves came even with the company allowed to continue to run live TV shows in Florida after the WWE was deemed an essential service.
Pro sports were added to a list of businesses permitted to stay open in an April 9 memorandum to include “employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience ... only if the location is closed to the general public.”
The amendment allows World Wrestling Entertainment, run by CEO McMahon in the Orlando area, to continue putting on shows - albeit without fans.
WWE announced last week it made various moves to cut costs and improve cash flow, including: reducing the salaries of executives and board members; decreasing operating expenses; cutting talent expenses, third party staffing and consulting; and deferring spending on the construction of the company’s new headquarters for at least six months.
The company cut a slew of athletes, including superstars Kurt Angle and Rusev.
Details emerge about McMahon’s payment
However McMahon is coming under fire after it emerged on Monday that the WWE paid their shareholders a stock dividend which would have been more than enough to cover the sacked stars’ salaries for the next year.
Wrestling website Bleeding Cool cited an official WWE press release stating some US$9.4 million was paid out to owners of around 78 million shares.
McMahon’s share of the payout is reportedly $3.5 million (AU$5.5 million).
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer said the staff cuts would save the WWE about US$703,000 per month.
“Based on Meltzer's reported savings, WWE could have paid the recently released employees their full salaries until April 2021,” the Bleeding Cool report alleges.
“McMahon's own dividends income alone would have covered talent for five months.
“WWE have clearly opted to pay their shareholders and the WWE Chairman himself a large sum of money, instead of using that cash to keep their loyal employees in a job during one of the most difficult periods in recent human history.”
Fans were also less than impressed, slamming the WWE on social media.
So #WWE dividend could have kept everyone released in jobs for 4 more years that's how little #scumbag #VinceMcmahon cares about his employees the quicker hes gone from the public life the better he's held wrestling back 20 years being so god danm old and out of date
— Uncle Dez (@BigDeznumber7) April 19, 2020
Releasing people who won't be able to get another job, the week he gave himself a 4 million dividend and the week before he's going to announce record profits, regardless of the couple of million he saved firing people during a Pandemic, does in fact make Vince McMahon evil, yes.
— Benno (@BensonRichardE) April 19, 2020
@VinceMcMahon @StephMcMahon @TripleH I just saw the story about you people paying dividends to yours share holders instead of keeping your talent on payroll. This is disgusting @FOXTV you should cancel smack down
— CW (@Charleswnot37) April 19, 2020
Greedy bastard
— Andy Shirlaw (@andy_shirlaw) April 20, 2020
Sacked star’s pregnant wife reduced to tears
McMahon also released, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, No Way Jose, Zack Ryder, Curt Hawkins, Sarah Logan and more.
The pregnant partner of Hawkins’ (real name Brian Myers) was reduced to tears after his release.
“There was notice that morning that layoffs would begin and our anxiety kicked into full gear. Not just for ourselves, but friends and loved ones that this could potentially happen to,” Liz Myers write in a blogpost.
“Brian just needed to know if it was happening to him or not and I was praying the phone didn’t ring. Well, the phone rang and I broke down.
“You can’t really break down for long when your almost 3 year old is running around chasing bubbles, but I cried. There is so much uncertainty in the world, it’s terrifying.
“One week prior, they had wanted him to fly to Orlando to film for RAW and the next week they are getting rid of people.
“I went from being scared of my husband coming home from work with the coronavirus to days later him getting fired.”
Liz said she’d been left feeling ‘helpless’
“For starters, I am 30 weeks pregnant. It’s not the most satisfying feeling when your husband loses his job and you don’t have one for you both to fall back on,” she wrote.
“I always said the past year, if I needed to get back into work I could and would get back into my field (thinking like 4-5 years if his contract didn’t renew), not expecting him to lose his job when I’m 2 months away from having our child let alone during a pandemic.
“Though I don’t regret my time at home, I do feel guilt and anxiety about the decision I made last year with a new baby on the way but this is something I just have to deal with right now.”
with Associated Press
